Sweedish company, myFC, are marketing a pretty amazing new bit of technology for those that need to charge their phones in remote regions. Whether you are a humble camper, a rescue worker, or in the military, you could find this device pretty useful. It's called the PowerTrekk, and is a portable fuel cell charger. All you need to activate the device is a spoonful of water, and it will fully charge your smartphone. The device is about the same size as a pocket camera and can use salt water or fresh water. Here's a full description from the manufacturer's website:

With its unique fuel-cell technology, PowerTrekk converts hydrogen gas into electricity and can therefore deliver instant, reliable energy. PowerTrekk uses pure fuel-cell technology to convert hydrogen gas into electricity. Hydrogen is released by the PowerTrekk Pukk and produces electricity as it passes through the fuel cells. The residual product is just a little water vapor. Unlike solar-powered chargers, these fuel cells generate energy instantly. The amount of energy is reliable and is not affected by weather conditions. Moreover, the energy does not fade like it does in batteries. When you don’t need very much energy, you only need to take the green lid section. It has an internal battery that you can charge before you travel, either using the fuel-cell system or via USB. This makes PowerTrekk an excellent travel charger.

The PowerTrekk Fuel Cell produces 2.5 watts at 5 volts, and runs for over two hours. With the 5 volts available, PowerTrekk will charge all mobile phones, gps, and cameras, but will only trickle charge higher wattage devices such as iPad or Kindle Fire.

PowerTrekk and Pukks are both IEC approved for carry-on luggage on airplanes.

Click to expand...

This looks to be an invaluable tool for anyone looking to be away from the "grid", yet still needing that communication access. The device retails for $229.99 on the IndustrialRev.com website, linked below. It's also important to note that the device has two methods to charge your phones. One is that you will also need to purchase their PowerTrekk Pukk. They are sold in 3-packs for $11.99, and each Pukk will provide 4 Watt hours of energy, which should be sufficient to charge several phone sized devices. The other is that the device comes with its own built-in battery than can be charged via the fuel-cell or through plugging into another power source. The internal buffer battery can provide a current of 1500 mA during one hour.

The idea behind this is pretty amazing. I look forward to the day when this evolves to larger devices. What do you guys think?

I think solar chargers or motion charger are a way better solution or some remote areas as those are independent.
This gadget produces hydrogen from water through a chemical reaction so besides water it also needs the fuel cell which is pretty expensive and it's only good for one cycle. That means you fill it up with water, charge your phone once and then you need to replace the fuel cell as it's been depleted of it's chemicals. It's a lighter solution than batteries as the fuel cells are lighter but other than that it's just another expensive useless gadget.

@smokiedabong, that certainly might be better in some cases, but I can see the benefit of this as well. Say you are in the wilderness, and you become injuered an unable to walk. You may not have efficient access to the sun for solar power, and you are not able to move enough for motion generated energy, but you are likely to have a bottle of water with you. Pop open the water, poor a little, and you now have power.

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